Sooner or Later
by Black-Inque2002
Summary: In which Tahno decides to stir up some feeling by being a jerkface.


AN: I wrote this a week before episode five aired, so there's definitely some discrepancies in the events.

Korra stormed into the locker room, ripping off her helmet in one furious jerk and shaking her matted hair free. Heat and anger coiled about her stomach despite the win she'd just barely managed to score for her team. She should be happy. _They_ should be happy. That win had secured them a place in the championships, something that a few days before they were sure they'd have no chance at.

Mako should have been _thanking_ her for that last minute strategy. Instead, he'd berated her as soon as the match had been declared over and Korra had been riding on the high of the thunderous applause from the audience and the shame of defeat settling in over the Wolfbats as they'd trudged out of the area with slumped shoulders. He'd gotten right in her face, golden eyes flaring, jabbing at her with an accusatory finger.

"You were supposed to defend while _I _attacked!" he'd snapped, promptly dashing her good spirits with that characteristic sullenness of his. It seemed nothing made Mako happy unless it it came to him the form of money.

...Or some pretty little strumpet who'd "accidentally" run him over with her moped.

It hadn't taken long for her temper to erupt. She'd immediately gone on the defensive, clenching her fist while snarling back "I had an opening, so I took it!" Spirits almighty, why couldn't he have just gone with it, let himself ride on the happiness of his teammates and the chorus of screaming fans?

Okay, so maybe she could understand some of it. Maybe she could understand the fact that she hadn't exactly been the greatest at meeting them for practice. She knew she should have been more responsible in that regard. But he should have understood her side too. She was the Avatar. She had far greater duties than worrying about pro-bending matches. There was a madman out there, a madman who'd kidnapped Bolin, had come_ this close_ to stealing his bending away, and certainly would have if they hadn't shown up in time to save him. That same man had stalked her in the shadows, held her down and whispered in her ear all that he'd intended to do to her. To the _world._ Why couldn't Mako understand that benders weren't safe as long as Amon was gathering people to him, training them in his deadly chi-blocking art? Surely he couldn't be that blind not to see the protesters crying out injustice on their megaphones while rapt onlookers hung on their every word? Surely he couldn't have missed those posters emblazoned with Amon's masked imaged and sinister proclamations of a new era of equality? Amon was everywhere; his eyes and ears watched and listened in every corner. And _she _was the only one who could stop him. The weight of that knowledge, of that responsibility, of that encounter in the dead of the night, had overwhelmed and terrified her. Korra didn't need to be scolded like a child. She needed support. She needed a _friend. _

But what had he gone and done? He'd gone and got himself a lovely bit of arm jewelry and a nice helping of her cash for the tournament's ridiculously steep entry fee. And he hadn't even so much as bothered to tell her about it. About _her_; Asami. That tall, elegant, rich, _beautiful_ daughter of Hiroshi Sato.

Sighing heavily in frustration, Korra threw her helmet in the locker and went to work unfastening the rest of her protective gear, scowling as she caught sight of the Sato corporate logo that now decorated it, yet another reminder of the new and unwanted presence in her life and the equally unwanted implications of that logo. The Fire Ferrets were _owned _now. Hiroshi Sato, and, by extension, his daughter, now had complete financial power over them. The thought of that chafed at her like wet boots on a frigid arctic morning. The idea of being owned by someone...by that girl...

It must have been a day for unwanted presences, for no sooner had she tried to push Asami Sato from her mind did an equally unpleasant voice ooze its way into the locker room. It brushed against her ears, soft as velvet, yet it stirred her ire even more.

"Penny for your thoughts, Avatar?"

Korra shot up, whirling around in surprise to see Tahno, the waterbender from Wolfbats, coolly slouching against the doorway. A rakish grin graced his finely pointed features as he stared at her in open amusement. He didn't seem at all angry at his defeat by her team. On the contrary. She thought she could detect a faint glint of something in his pale eyes that might have been admiration, or it might have been a hint of something salacious. Either way, Korra was sure she didn't like it.

"Tahno,"she replied flatly, fixing him with an incredulous glare. "What do _you_ want?"

His eyebrows lifted in mock affront.

"Just thought I'd come offer my congratulations on your victory," he said. "Turns out you're way better than I thought, even if you are the Avatar."

Well, that was a backhanded compliment if she'd ever heard one. Korra rolled her eyes impatiently. All she wanted to do was finish getting her gear off, shower, and head for home, preferably as quickly as possible so she wouldn't have to face Mako. She needed time to cool off.

"Thanks, I guess,"she deadpanned, turning her attention to pulling off one of her shin guards, hoping he would take the hint that she didn't want to talk to him.

He didn't. Instead, Tahno seemed to take it as an invitation to come in. He sauntered almost lazily towards her, seemingly oblivious to her discomfort, or perhaps it was her discomfort that was drawing him near.

"Look, don't misunderstand me," he began, cocking a hand on his hip as he looked down at her. "You're not like that loser Mako or his brother. You've got actual talent."

"Don't you dare insult Mako or Bolin!" Korra snapped, jumping to her feet, muscles tense as she felt her temper begin to boil again. "You don't know how hard they work at what they do! Pro-bending is all they have!"

Tahno gave a small, nonchalant shrug, completely unfazed by her outburst.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say. "

"Look, Tahno, if you're just here to insult me and my teammates, you can show yourself the door,"Korra snarled. She really didn't need his provocation on top of everything else. Please, spirits, just make him go away!

The spirits must not have been listening to her, because Tahno didn't move. His smirk only widened, as if he enjoyed getting a rise out of her. If he didn't lay off, he'd be getting a fist to his face before long and Korra was finding herself in need of a punching bag.

"Woah, woah. Calm down," he replied, daring to edge even closer so he could lightly rest a hand on her shoulder. Korra felt herself stiffen at the uninvited contact, shooting a glare down at his his hand. Tahno finally seemed to get the message that she was in no mood to be toyed with and promptly pulled away.

"If I'm not mistaken,"he continued, making himself comfortable by leaning against the locker next to hers, "I sensed a little conflict out there tonight. You and Mako seem to be having problems."

"It's none of your business," Korra growled, her face growing hot with anger and embarrassment. He was really toeing the line by assuming anything about her relationship with Mako or Bolin. Why did he care, and why did he feel the need to dig into her personal life?

"Hmph. A bad relationship between a captain and the rest of his team makes for a bad performance in the arena."

"Oh? You're giving me advice now?" she scoffed, crossing her arms defensively in front of her to hide her clenched fists. "Why don't you just get to the point so you can leave quicker?"

"You know, you should really check that temper of yours," Tahno suggested, a hint of displeasure creeping into his voice.

"Well, excuse me for not being gracious, but I'm not the one who was in here a few hours ago calling the other team 'losers', and now you're back insulting me again!"

"Korra, I just complimented you," Tahno pointed out. "I'm not fond of your teammates, but...well..." He trailed off with another shrug, expression suggesting that he had more he wanted to say, but was purposefully witholding it.

"Well what?" Korra demanded. "I don't have all night, Tahno."

"Fine. Word on the street is your captain has gotten cozy with a certain industrialist's daughter. I think you know her. Asami Sato."

Korra's jaw tightened inadvertently at the mention of the name, and she was wishing even harder for something to punch or set on fire. Swallowing her irritation, she replied gruffly, "Yeah, so what?"

"She's one hell of a woman, wouldn't you agree?"

Her face scrunched up in confusion at his baiting, mouth turning down at the corners in a brief flicker of disgust. Tahno thought it was an ugly look for such a pretty face.

"I wouldn't know. Why do you care?"

"Why do I care?" echoed Tahno. "Because it's putting an obvious dent in your friendship." He paused, expression rearranging itself to one of mock concern. "You _are_ friends, right? Nothing more than that?"

"Tahno, I swear to the spirits, if you go another step further-"

"Why? You jealous or something?" he challenged, his grin now positively wicked.

"I-I am not!" Korra spluttered, the writing tendrils of anger now backpedaling to try and build a wall of defense around her. Her face was now red as the fire ferrets her team was named for, and Tahno could practically feel the heat of her fury radiating from her body. Her breasts heaved with barely contained emotion and her large blue eyes were flashing lightning. She was a delicious mixture of vivacity, passion, and volatility, and Tahno was beginning to realize that he was finding himself intrigued. He wanted to see more of her this way, more of her period. Taunting her about her attraction to Mako had only been icing on the cake, but what a wonderfully intense reaction he'd gotten. He was playing her like a two stringed harp, and the music she was making couldn't have been any sweeter.

"Oh, please," Tahno snorted, rolling his eyes at her denial. "The way you were looking at him when Asami came into the ring gave it all away."

Korra didn't answer, instead choosing to remove her vambrace and put it in her locker so as to hide her face from him, but even she knew it was too late to try to negate him now. So he'd figured it all out and fancied himself some sort of genius for it and decided to come in here and rub her face in it. He was being a class A jerk and she wasn't going to give him any more satisfaction tonight.

"So what if Mako is dating Asami?"she asked, trying her best to sound cavalier and failing tremendously. "So what if she's rich and bought him out? I'm glad. Really. Couldn't be happier."

"Uh-huh. Listen sweetheart, forget him. He doesn't know what he's got right here." He pointed at her to emphasize. "You should go for someone who recognizes talent when they see it."

"And who would that be? _You?_"

Tahno grinned languidly at her, his icy eyes

"Sure, why not?"

He heard her sigh in exasperation behind the locker door, fingers roughly unlacing the last bit of her padding and tossing it carelessly inside before slamming it shut. She gazed up at him, pinning him down again with those flashing blue eyes.

"Why not?" she retorted. "Because you're a creep, that's why not."

"You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, Avatar,"he sneered. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know enough."

"Korra?"

She turned a startled look towards the entrance of the locker room at the sound of Mako's voice. Tahno didn't flinch at the sound of his rival's approach. Just smiled, smiled, smiled.

"You should leave," Korra suggested with a pointed frown.

"Oh, don't worry about me,"he replied congenially. "I'll behave."

Korra shook her head, rolling her eyes in dismissal of him. She rose to her feet and called back to Mako, "Yeah! I'm in here!"

"Hey, after the match, Bolin and I were thinking about-What the hell is _he_ doing in here?"

The captain of the Fire Ferrents stood in the entrance of the locker room, expression livid as his eyes lighted on Tahno, who mockingly thew him a friendly wave.

Korra's shoulder slumped a bit as she glanced between the two, the weariness from all of the drama of the past few weeks suddenly catching up to her. A shower. Really, that was all she wanted right now. Why was that too much to ask for?

"He-"

"Just came by to offer my congratulations," Taho interrupted smoothly, moving himself to stand at Korra's elbow and thoroughly enjoying every bit of tension it produced. Mako took a step forward, looking about ready to rip his head off if he so much as laid a finger on his teammate.

"She doesn't have anything to say to you," he growled. "Get lost."

"Oh, Mako, that was _mean_," Tahno pouted, theatrically clutching at his chest. "I'm wounded."

"Don't _tempt_ me."

"Hey, _I'm_ just trying to be friendly here," Tahno said lightly with a careless shrug. "_You're_ the one making threats. But, whatever. I can tell when I'm not welcome."

As if to further goad Mako, he turned his attention back to Korra, who had been massaging her temple trying to rid herself of a headache that had begun to build in the last fifteen seconds. He gently clasped her hand and raised it to his lips in a gentlemanly kiss, pleased with himself beyond words when he heard Mako's strangled cry of anger and Korra's shocked gasp.

"Avatar,"he purred, releasing her and swaggering towards the exit, the very picture of narcissism. As he passed Mako, he checked his shoulder, pausing to let a supremely self-satisfied smirk snake its way over his face as he sneered down at the other boy.

"Later, Romeo," he drawled before gracefully slithering into the shadowed hallway, glad that he could, at the very least, have given the Fire Ferrets something to talk about. At the very best, he'd shaken up the Avatar and gotten quite a delicious glimpse of her inner turmoil. She was a feisty one, and he was very much going to enjoy playing with her.

Let her ponder his words. Let her see the error of her ways. She would come to him.

Sooner or later.


End file.
